Debate "World War 2, Russia and Ukraine in the Era of the Smartphone War" - Instytut Pileckiego

As part of the events accompanying the opening of the new headquarters of the Pilecki Institute at 82 Sienna Street, we invite you to a a debate on how Russia and Ukraine use and reinterpret the memory of World War II in the context of today’s war.

The history and memory of World War 2 has become an important battleground in Russia’s war against Ukraine. Simultaneously, the smartphone is bringing war – and the past – into daily life with ever more immediacy. In this panel, we show how both Russia and Ukraine are interpreting these memories.

Dr. Ian Garner will demonstrate how the Russian state uses social media and digital infrastructures to create a flexible – and falsified – memory of the war that, as it seeps into phones, feeds, and daily life, functions as propaganda to support the idea that Russia can “do it again” in a war against imagined fascism.

Meanwhile, Dr. Paweł Dobrosielski will discuss a major research project at the University of Warsaw that shows how ordinary Ukrainians are using historical comparisons to the suffering of World War 2 to make sense of their experiences. Together, we show how understanding historical use and abuses of the wartime past remains a vital task for academics and public commentators in the present.

The discussion will be moderated by Dr. John Cornell of the Pilecki Institute.

Presenters:

• Dr. Ian Garner (Pilecki Institute),
• Dr. Paweł Dobrosielski (Institute of Polish Culture, University of Warsaw).
• Dr. John Cornell (Pilecki Institute) - moderation

September 6 (Friday), 6:30 p.m.
Free admission (wstęp wolny)
Venue: Pilecki Institute, Sienna 82, IP auditorium (ground floor)